UPDATE: Governor McCrory Visits Medicaid System Centers

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Gov. Pat McCrory has taken a first-hand look at North Carolina's new Medicaid claims billing system.

McCrory and Health and Human Service Secretary Aldona Wos (vahsh) on Tuesday visited the operations and call centers for the vendor hired to build and run the computer network. The system went online July 1.

The state health agency says the "NCTracks" billing program has processed more than 2.25 million claims since its first week of operation.

A statement from McCrory's office said total payments to North Carolina providers this week will exceed $137 million, which includes payment for all backlogged claims that had accumulated in the 10-day transition from old to new claims systems.

The computer network replaced a system first turned on in 1977.________________________________________PREVIOUS STORY:The replacement for North Carolina's outdated Medicaid billing program is getting turned on 10 years after the first bids were sought to build it.

The nearly half-billion dollar project called "NCTracks" begins accepting bills and treatment requests from hospitals, doctors and other service providers Monday.

The Department of Health and Human Services says it's done what it can to prepare for a smooth transition from a program that was first turned on in 1977. It's held training sessions, run invoices through the network and beefed up help desks. Department Chief Information Officer Joe Cooper says he expects some issues but believe it's been tested extensively to meet the needs of providers.

The effort to build the project has been marked by a contract cancellation, cost overruns and criticisms by state auditors.

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